Nîmes Transportation

After getting a very expensive parking ticket in Ireland, a country where I CAN read the language, I'm always a little reluctant to try and find street parking in foreign countries where I'm a little shaky on it so in the larger tourist oriented cities, we just located a parking garage which is what we did in Nimes. You can follow the blue P signs to located parking, some of it outside and some of it in a garage. We were heading to the Arena first so we parked at the one marked Arenes, parking is by the hour and you can use even American non chip credit cards to pay.

Here's a map and a schedule of the shuttle bus from Nimes Airport to town.

http://france-for-visitors.com/france-maps/languedoc/nimes-map.html
http://www.nimes.aeroport.fr/presentation/index.asp?rub_code=8&thm_id=55&gpl_id=

Tickets on board the bus for 5 euro.

I went and stayed at Nimes this June, 2010, via my Rail pass. Hotel Park is about 1.5 miles from the train station. There are two buses - one to downtown and one to the train station. There are taxis on the centre side of the train station, but elsewhere can be challenging. On June 29th a taxis was supposed to pick me up in downtown Nimes in 10 minutes. It never came after 35 minutes, and I missed a bus connection. In frustration I rented a car at the train station for a day to see Pont du Gard (aqueduct), then Orange (Theatre). In summarry, it may be better to stay at Avignon or Arles, if you are relying only on rail and buses.

Some road distances to Nimes from:

- Charleroi (Belgium): 903 kms.
- Madrid (Spain): 988 kms.
- Linz (Austria): 1.260 kms.
- Eger (Hungary): 1.684 kms.

Checking the website, you’ll find more road distances together with the driving times and the best routes.

Nimes Arles airport is really, really tiny, so doesn't have a vast amount of choice when it comes to transport.

You either get a taxi (30+ euro to Nimes) or take the airport shuttle.

The timetable links in with flights, so the bus is waiting when you get out of arrivals (walk to the right) and picks you up in time to get to the airport in plenty of time.

Fare is 5 euro, and the bus stops at various places around the edge of Nimes: the station, Atria, Gambetta, Imperator. My bus driver (same chap both days) was very helpful, and will no doubt tell you where it's best to get off for your hotel if you don't already know.

We flew from London to Nimes with Ryanair. Nimes airport is very small and we were the only flight there on Saturday morning so it didn't take long to get out of the airport. From the airport, there is a scheduled bus which takes you the 10 km to Nimes for 4.30 Euro (as of Oct 2004).

The Nimes "airport" was the tiniest airport I had ever seen. It was more like a large barn structure with few amenities inside. At the time, it received only one flight daily from Stanstead Airport in London, and I was on it. Similarly, there was only one public bus that took passengers to the city, and it left shortly after the plane landed. So, unless things have changed, be warned! I was cluelessly dawdling in the washroom and missed it. I ended up taking a taxi, which took forever to arrive and cost me 20 euros! What a start to a vacation eh?

trains to nimes are frequent, and the TGV from montpellier-lyons-paris stops here (just make sure you get off or youll be going skiing instead of sunbathing)

the train station is a bit out of the centre, we always walked and it took us about 15 minutes from the station to the ampitheatre, but taxis are readily available and not too expensive